Cloth cleaner for sifters and the like



D 1942. w. M. WILLIAMS :rAL 2,304,

CLOTH CLEANER FOR SIFTERS AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 3, 1940 113- 1 llllllll I I illl mlllfllllllm IIII-IIIIIIIIIIIHIIIII [171 E17 LU P5- Wz'ilz'czm M i Vz'lll'ams. @W Eugene G. Berry by m m Patented Dec. 8, 1942 UNlTED stares rAreur OFFICE OLOTH CLEANER FOR SIFTERS AND THE LIKE Application August 3, 1940, SerialNo. 350,876

14 Claims.

This invention relates to cloth cleaners for sieves and the like, and more particularly for sieves of the rotary, oscillatory, or gyratory type.

Heretofore, in the use of cloth cleaners in conjunction with sieves and particularly flour bolting sieves, considerable difficulty has been encountered in obtaining a cleaner which would have sufiicient life so as to respond fully to the motion of the sieve to enable the cleaner to perform the desired cleaning function and yet which would not rapidly wear away or unduly wear the sieve cloth.

Some cleaners have been used having brushes thereon, but these have been found to be unsatisfactory for the reason that the bristles of the brush frequently came out and as a result got into the material being bolted or sieved. Still other cleaners have been made of rubber material, but these were found to deteriorate rapidly and to be unsatisfactory because rubber is relatively porous and quickly becomes embedded with the flour or material being bolted.

Cleaners made of cotton belting have also been extensively used. This cleaner comprised a section of cotton belting having frayed ends and a central steel supporting projection. Such cleaners, however, deteriorated rapidly, and frayed portions wear off and get into the product being sifted. These cleaners also do not have the desired life and resiliency.

We have also experimented with cleaners made of solid metal but have found such cleaners too heavy to provide thecleaner with the necessary resiliency and rebound characteristics. Leather, both with and without'bristles and of various shapes, has also been used in cloth cleaners, but leather does not seem to have the requisite resiliency to enable it to fully respond to the motion of the sieve. Moreover, without bristles, leather cleaners are not very eiiicient.

We have experimented with all of these various types of material, and after many years spent in developing different types of cleaners we have finally evolved one which does afford a satisfactory solution to the problem that was presented. In our cleaner, we use a light but rigid product, namely molded plastic; and from cleaners that have been constructed and used we have obtained excellent results in the use of a synthetic plastic product such as phenolic condensation products known to the trade as Bakelite and Redmanol.

An object of this invention therefore is to provide an improved cloth cleaner for use in sieves,

and particularly sieves of the gyratory or rotary type.

Another object of this invention is to provide.

a cloth cleaner with improved wear and resilient qualities.

Still another object of this invention is to pro vide a cloth cleaner which is of such construction that a portion thereof will serve as a pivotal tapping arm during movement of the cleaner in response to the motion of the sieve.

In accordance with the general features of this' invention, there is provided a cloth cleaner com-' prising a unitary molded plastic member having substantially the configuration of a numeral eight" Still another feature of the invention relates to the construction of the hearing or supporting point of the cleaner so that the cleaner will not be weakened at this point and yet will be provided with a wear resisting bearing surface such 7 as to enable the cleaner to move and pivot readily in response to the motion of the sieve.

Other objects and features of this invention will more fully appear from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing which illustrates several embodiments thereof, and in which:

Figure l is a plan view of one form of my novel cloth cleaner;

Figure 2 is a bottom view of the cleaner shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal cross sectional view taken through the construction shown in Figures 1 and 2, and more particularly on the line IIIIII of Figure 1 looking in the direction indicated by the arrows;

bearing or supporting oint of the cleaner is shown Figure 6 is a plan view of a modified form of cleaner wherein a tubular rivet is used to provide the bearing or supporting member in the cleaner; and

Figure 7 is a cross sectional view taken through two cleaners like the one shown in Figure 6 and illustrating how they may be nested for packing.

As shown on the drawing:

The reference character I!) designates generally a cloth cleaner embodying the features of this invention. This cleaner has a configuration, when viewed from either its top or bottom side, of a numeral eight. It includes two circular portions ll and I2, the former of which is of smaller size than the latter so that it, as shown in Figure 3, will be maintained uppermost by reason of the greater weight of the portion l2. Both portions are apertured or formed hollow at the center, as is evident from Figures 1, 2, and 3.

This cloth cleaner member I is made of a synthetic plastic material and is preferably mold- I ed. It may be made from any suitable plastic, such for example as a phenolic condensation product, or from any other suitable artificial condensation or resinous product. We have ascertained from experimentation with different types of material that the use of a synthetic plastic is particularly desirable, since it enables a cleaner that is relatively light, .has the requisite resiliency and life so as to rebound in use, and does not sluff or wear away in such a, way as to cause any deleterious adulteration of the product being sifted.

The cleaner I0, shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3, has been molded from a phenolic'condensation material, and it has been found that such cleaners will stand up under even the most severe flour bolting conditions.

It will be noted that the smaller portion ll of the member H) is ofiset upwardly, as shown in Figure 3, from the normal plane of the cleaner so as'to provide a tapping arm for tapping the under surface of a bolting cloth 20 as shown in Figure 4. This bolting cloth, as is well known in the sifting art, is supported by a suitable frame which includes below the cloth 2!] a coarse wire mesh screen 2| on which the cleaners are carried. Below the wire mesh screen 2!, we have found it desirable at times in sifter units to use a finer mesh screen 22 for cooperation with the screen 2| in the sifting process.

Each of the members ID has its junction or intermediate portion l3 provided with a, bearing or supporting element in the form of a sphericallike metal cap I 5 which comprises part of a staple including a shank or stem 16. This shank or stem l6 extends through the countersunk opening H in the intermediate portion l3 of the member Ill. The furcations of legs I! of the staple are pressed apart into the countersunk portion M'of the opening, as shown in Figure 3, so as to interlock this element or staple to'the plastic member Hi. Inother words, the staple is in reality embedded in and interlocked with the recessed intermediate portion of the plastic member Hi. This interlocking coaction of the staple with the member Ill takes place on the upper side of the member ID, whereas the spherical-like bearing cap I 5 is disposed on the bottom side of the member Ill.

This spherical-like cap or bearing portion I5 is adapted to bear on the screen 2| as shown in Figure 4 during the use of the cleaner. As the screen is oscillated or gyrated, the cleaner will first assume one position in which the tapping arm I l is in tapping engagement with the under side of the bolting cloth 2t and will in subsequent gyrations or oscillations assume the position shown in Figure 4, in which the tapping arm H is out of contact with the cloth 2i During this bounding, sliding and, oscillating movement of the cleaners, they each bear, through the means of the metal cap IE, on the top of the wire mesh screen 2i. Obviously, as the cleaners strike the sides of the frame carrying the sifting medium, they will rebound therefrom, and we have found that the natural resiliency of the plastic product greatly enhances the action of these cleaners in moving to and fro under the cloth 20.

In Figure 5, we have illustrated a modified form of cleaner in which the plastic member ID is of substantially the same configuration as the plastic member [0 of the first described embodiment. This member in, instead of having its intermediate portion 3' provided with an aperture, is provided with an underturned resilient flange for interlocking engagement at l9 with the undercut of the knob H8. The undercut may be at a reentrant angle, so that the cap l5 can be sprung into retaining cooperation with the proturbance it. Otherwise this form of the invention is substantially like the previously described form.

In Figures 6 and 7, we have illustrated still'a third form of the invention, wherein the plastic member lila is of substantially the same configuration as the previously described members I!) and Hi. Like the members l0 and Hi, this member lila may be made from a synthetic plastic product such as Bakelite, Redmanol, and the like.

The principal difference between this member Ita and the previously described ones resides in the manner in which the metal protuberance element is attached to the intermediate portion of the cleaner member. In this form of the invention, instead of using a staple bearing element, we use a tubular rivet I6 which has its uppermost end flared outwardly for interlocking engagement with the intermediate portion of the member Ilia inside of a relatively large countersunk portion it of the aperture or recess in which the rivet is disposed. In fact, the countersunk portion 14 of the recess is made sufficiently large so that it will house the spherical-like head end I511 of a tubular rivet. This arrangement is such that the members Illa may be disposed one upon the other in substantially nested arrangement for packaging and shipment, as shown in Figure 7.

Also, it will be noted that the material at the junction of the two circular portions of each of the above described cleaners is of sufiicient magnitude that the cleaner is not materially weak ened by the means employed for securing the metal bearing element thereto. Then, too, the spherical-like and finished contact surface of each of the bearing elements is such that the cleaner will quickly respond to motion and with a minimum of friction. The metallic surface is necessarily wear resistant but yet due to its smallness does not detract from the natural rebound and resilient characteristics of the plastic member of the cleaner.

We claim as our invention:

1. As an article of manufacture, a cloth cleaner for sieves and the like comprising a unitary molded plastic member having substantially the configuration of a numeral eight, including two joined circular portions with one portion thereof basestransverseiy nom the otherto'provide a tapping arr-'nfo'r tappingthe sifting" cloth as the cleaner is actuated by the motion of the sieve.

2. As an article ofinanufacture, a cloth clean-' er for sieves and the like comprising a unitary molded plastic member having substantially the configuration of a numeral eight, including two joined circular portions with one portion thereof offset transversely from the other to provide a tapping arm for tapping the sitting cloth as the cleaner is actuated by the motion of the sieve, said portions having at their junction and at the bottom of said member a rounded protuberance on which the member is supported for pivotal and sliding motion.

4. As an article of manufacture, a cloth cleaner for sieves and the like comprising a unitary molded plastic member having substantially the configuration of a numeral eight, including two joined circular portions with one portion thereof offset transversely from the other to provide a tapping arm for tappin the sifting cloth as the cleaner is actuated by the motion of the sieve, said portions having at their junction and at the bottom of said member a rounded protuberance on which the member is supported for pivotal and sliding motion, and said protuberance comprising a metallic member for resisting wear due to friction.

5. As an article of manufacture, a cloth cleaner for sieves and the like comprising a unitary molded plastic member having substantially the configuration of a numeral eight,,including two joined circular portions with one portion thereof offset transversely from the other to provide a tapping arm for tapping the sifting cloth as the cleaner is actuated by the motion of the sieve, said portions having at their junction and at the bottom of said member a rounded protuberance on. which the member is supported for pivotal and sliding motion, and said protuberance including metallic cap having a rounded surface and provided with a portion embedded in the material of said plastic member at said junction.

6. As an article of manufacture, a cloth cleanor for sieves and the like comprising a unitary molded plastic member havin substantially the configuration of a numeral eight, including two joined circular pcrticns with. one portion thereof offset transversely from the other to provide a tapping arm for tapping the sifting cloth the cleaner is actuated by the motion of the sieve, said portions having at their junction and at the bottom of said member a rounded protuberance on which the member is supported for pivotal and sliding motion, said protuberance including a metallic cap having a rounded surface and provided with a portion embedded in the material her having substantially the "configuration of a numeral eight, including two joined circular portions with one portion thereof'ofiset transversely from the other to provide a tapping arm for tapping the sifting cloth as the cleaner is actuated by the motion of the sieve, said member being made of rigid but light material.

8. As an article of manufacture, a cloth cleaner for sieves and the like comprising a unitary molded plastic member having substantially the cbiifi'gura't'ion of a numeral eight, including two joined circular portions with one portion thereof offset transversely from the other to provide atapping arm for tapping the sifting cloth as the cleaner is actuated by the motion of the sieve, said tapping portion being smaller than said other portion so as normally to be held uppermost by the greater weight of said other portion, said'memberbeing molded in one piece and being relatively rigid, light and smooth.

9. In combination in a bolting sieve including 'a bolting cloth and a. screen, a cloth cleaner disposed of said screen between the cloth and the screen comprising a pair of planar arms one of which is smaller than the other and is offset vertically from said other arm, and an upwardly slanting intermediate portion connecting said arms, said smaller and top arm being maintained uppermost by reason of the greater weight of said other and lower arm, and said upper arm constituting a tapping element for striking the under side of the bolting cloth during the gyrating movement of the sieve. 1

10. In combination in a bolting sieve including a bolting cloth and a screen, a cloth cleaner disposed of said screen between the cloth and the screen comprising a pair of substantially fiat arms one of which is smaller than the other and is offset vertically from said other arm, and an upwardly slanting intermediate portion connect ing said arms, said smaller and top arm being maintained uppermost by reason of the greater weight of said other and lower arm, said upper arm constituting a tapping element for striking the under side of the bolting cloth during the gyrating movement of the sieve, and said slanting portion at the top side of the cleaner being at an obtuse angle to said lower arm.

11. For use in a bolting sieve and between a bolting cloth and a screen, a cloth cleaner comprising a pair of arms one of which is smaller than the other and is offset vertically from said other arm, and an upwardly slanting intermediate portion connecting said arms, said smaller and top arm being maintained uppermost by reason of the greater weight of said other and lower arm, said upper arm constituting a tapping element for striking the underside of the bolting cloth during the gyrating movement of the sieve, and said lower arm having at its junction with said slanting portion a downward smooth protuberance for making contact with'the screen.

12. In a cloth cleaner constructed and formed to be disposed between a sieve cloth and a supporting surface and comprising a base portion and a tapping portion disposed in a plane above and also beyond the margin of said base portion, said portions having at their junction a pivotal portion on their lower side about which they. teeter-totter, said tapping portion being of such construction and arrangement that it is normally overbalanced by said base portion and thus is maintained uppermost while yet being movable up and down to tap the sieve cloth in response to the sifting movement of the cloth.

'way the length of said cleaner and relative to which said portions may teeter-totter in the use of the cleaner.

14. As an article of manufacture a cleaner of the class described comprising a base portion and a tapping portion disposed in a plane above and also beyond the margin of said base portion, said portions being interconnected in a zig-zag arrangement to provide terminals at the extremities of said cleaner and in stepped relation to each other.

WILLIAM M. WILLIAMS. EUGENE G. BERRY. 

